EDITORIAL: Who should get credit, what should happen next

Vice Mayor David Mann listens to council member Kevin Flynn as he questions Consultant KPMG on their findings on the cost to complete vs. cancel the streetcar Thursday. The firm did a lengthy power point presentation for the Cincinnati City Council Streetcar Committee. Mann is the chair of the committee.

The story of Cincinnati's streetcar has had more plot twists than a Hollywood thriller, so it's fitting the story had a suspense-filled and ultimately happy ending Thursday.

Cincinnati's elected officials deserve credit for respecting the political process, listening to constituents with an open mind and being willing to let facts and data lead them in a different direction than the paths they'd previously staked out. Council members David Mann and Kevin Flynn deserve a shout-out for working hard behind the scenes to ensure the best possible outcome for the city.

The legions of Cincinnati residents who collected petition signatures and showed up at council chambers to wait hours for the chance to speak deserve our respect for their inspiring campaign. They could have surrendered or turned the conversation ugly; instead they persisted and used the institutions and processes for their advantage.

The philanthropic leaders who stepped forward to create a path out of the mess, people like Tim Maloney and Eric Avner of the Haile Foundation, Otto Budig and Murray Sinclaire, also deserve our thanks. We wish more leaders from business and higher education had been willing to chime in, but perhaps they'll now be willing to follow the path others have created.

Mayor John Cranley gets credit for consistency and expressing legitimate concerns. He inherited a mess not of his making and after campaigning on stopping the streetcar he stayed true to his word, even when the pressure on him might have made it easier to change his position. Cranley's commitment pushed streetcar supporters to a higher level of engagement, and the project will benefit from that.

Along with credit comes a long list of tasks and responsibilities. Those who organized to save the streetcar must remain engaged on this and other issues. We need their creativity and resolve to fix the many other problems our city faces.

City Council still has a lot of problem-solving to do on the streetcar. We need the mayor and council members to persuade sponsors and advertisers to support it. We need to continue to explore a special improvement district along the route that would contribute to its operation. We need to look into other solutions, like a special tax on future redevelopment along the line. There won't be a magic bullet, or a single check, that will cover future costs; the money will likely be cobbled together from a variety of sources, and we need to explore them all.

We need streetcar opponents, starting with Cranley, to do everything they can to make the line a success. We know he can be gracious even though the resolution isn't what he advocated. We need his leadership and his unqualified support for this project.

We need SORTA to be involved, despite criticism of the proposal its board floated earlier this week. The streetcar must be fully integrated in the region's transit, to avoid creating two systems. SORTA has the expertise and motivation to make the streetcar work. Use them to our fullest advantage.

We need citizens to stay informed and engaged by reading media like The Enquirer and attending community council and City Council meetings. Most of all, we need people to exercise their right to vote.

And now we need the streetcar line to go to Uptown, and eventually beyond. Everyone's always agreed that we need it to connect the city's two job centers. We've learned from this example what not to do in developing a streetcar line. Let's use that knowledge to continue moving forward.

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EDITORIAL: Who should get credit, what should happen next

The story of Cincinnati's streetcar has had more plot twists than a Hollywood thriller, so it's fitting the story had a suspense-filled and ultimately happy ending Thursday.